| Résumé: | Abstract The Bayer AG was cut off from the quinine world trade by the quinine cartel, existing mainly of Great Britain, France and Netherlands, during the Great War. Being unable to purchase ingredients to produce malaria drug Bayer decided to develop synthetic active ingredients to treat malaria patients. This was an innovative approach to the malaria problem by Bayer’s research department accompanied with an organizational change. This paper analyzes the international cooperation of the Bayer tropical medicine department in the 1920s and 1930s with regard to the development of test fields and sales markets for the synthetic antimalarial agents. How and why did the tropical medicine research department develop into a significant international player with innovative products? How did the tension between international research cooperation and commercial exploitation change? What role did the particular political circumstances and their change play in the transformation of cooperation and the development of markets? By answering these questions, this paper demonstrates that Bayer quite successfully pursued an innovation-based strategy of market development, which aimed at convincing the international scientific community and generating international prestige. Nevertheless, the Italian demand and the specific interests of Italian malaria research – low cost domestic supply of antimalarial drugs, colonial expansionism, and international influence – were crucial door openers for the breakthrough on the international market.
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